IDC: Media Tablet Fire Burned Cooler in Q3
    		The worldwide media tablet market saw huge sequential growth  in the third quarter of 2011, although sales of devices like the iPad came in  below forecast and didn't quite keep up the jaw-dropping momentum of Q2.
		Those are the results of the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Media  Tablet and eReader Tracker released Thursday.
		In all, media tablet shipments into sales channels hit 18.1  million units last quarter. That's up 24 percent on a sequential basis and a  whopping 265 percent from the year-ago quarter.
		But IDC notes the result is nearly 6 percent below its  original forecast of 19.2 million units. What's more, the sector was seeing 89  percent sequential growth from the first quarter to the second.
		Nonetheless, the Framingham,  Mass.-based market research firm continues to see strong demand for media  tablets in Q4, and actually increased its worldwide shipment forecast for all  of 2011 from 62.5 million units to 63.3 million units.
		The market remains Apple's to lose, with 11.1 million iPad  shipments in the third quarter for a 61.5 percent share, according to IDC.
		"Amazon and Barnes & Noble are shaking up the media  tablet market, and their success helps prove that there is an appetite for  media tablets beyond Apple's iPad," said IDC analyst Tom Mainelli in a  statement. "That said, I fully expect Apple to have its best-ever quarter  in 4Q11, and in 2012 I think we'll see Apple's products begin to gain more  traction outside of the consumer market, specifically with enterprise and  education markets."
 
	Posted by Scott Bekker on December 15, 2011